Prides and Prejudices
by singallday
Summary: Time is a pendulum. Before, it had swung towards the pure-bloods, making an enemy out of the Muggles... now it may just be swinging in the other direction. Everyone wants equality, but can equality really come at the exclusion of others? With a new air in Hogwarts, all the extra programs and sensitivities coming into light... Maybe the only thing that can fix it is one girl's wish.
1. Chapter One: Moon Landing

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, but y'all know that...**

* * *

**Chapter One **

**Moon Landing**

_ ~January 1, 2012._

A sky dark with night, only to be lit up over the Bay with flashes of light. Inside a house, four figures stared out the window, watching. A clock ticked in the background. The youngest, a girl, was too excited for such a late hour at a young age. She would turn four years old in a month or two.

"Three… two… one… _Happy New Year!"_

Cheers filtered in through the window, but the family ignored it. That was not what they had waited up for. As they watched, the sky burst with colorful fireworks reflecting into the bay… And one streak finally passed them by. Hurtling towards the earth.

"Sirius, Cassie, look! Make a wish before it's gone!" their mother encouraged.

The father looked at them and smiled before sliding his eyes back to the window. The little girl Cassie screwed her eyes shut for a moment, concentrating; Sirius stared ahead, unseeing. Both turned back to the window and watched the lights slowly peter out. "I wanna be happy," Cassie whispered under her breath. "I want Mom and Dad and Sirius to be happy. I want everyone in the whole wide world to be happy."

She kept muttering it until the mother decided that keeping a three-year-old girl ("I'm big, I'm almost four!") awake past midnight was a ridiculous idea, and left to put her to bed. Sirius followed after them.

From the living room, Scott McClare smiled. He could hear his wife's voice go higher and lower in pitch—she was either telling a story or singing a lullaby. Even gone midnight. He gave a little chuckle to himself and readied for bed when his phone rang.

When his wife got into bed a few moments later, Scott was grinning madly. "It's a nice-sized meteor, Amelia. They're not gonna touch it until the holidays are over, but someone has to set up the tape and take a few preliminary measures. They already know where it is; you'll never guess where it landed."

* * *

Cassie was up bright and early later that morning despite the late bedtime. The ground was slowly covering up under a light dusting of snow that seemed to grow the longer she stared out. Dad said they were going to go visit the shooting star and that he needed to take pictures of it for work. That was more than fine—a shooting star!

They drove out, following the bay, and came to a sandy beach leading into a forest, all covered in snow. Mom and Dad took out cameras and equipment and red tape and began to follow the long groove carved into the woods.

Sirius followed them, until he stopped right by the water. Then he slowly stepped into the water with his shoes on and continued walking until he was completely submerged. Looking back, Cassie watched her parents trekking on, going deeper between the trees. Ahead of her, Sirius was gone. Giving her lip a quick bite, Cassie took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the water behind her brother.

The water was cold at first. Freezing. There was snow glistening in her hair and her eyelashes and she was putting two feet in freezing water. She was tempted to run out, find Mom and Dad and maybe see the shooting star that Mom and Dad were so excited about. But she couldn't, not now, because the water had just gone blissfully warm, like a bubble bath. Almost like her mind was read, the water filled up with bubbles, all rainbow and shimmery. Without another turn, Cassie plunged in.

Under the water was a world bright with color, brighter than on land. Cassie found that she could breathe regularly, and the water didn't hurt at all. She was swimming deeper, past multiple schools of fish, when she felt a hard tug on her coat sleeve. It was Sirius, and he looked madder than ever.

"Cassiopeia Montgomery McClare—"

His words were muffled by the giant bubble around his head, but Cassie got the message. Out. Now. They rocketed to the surface of the water and out onto the beach. Wind whipped their hair into their faces, still dry. Mom and Dad were on the shore, anxiously calling their names.

"Sirius. Bay. McClare. You can't disappear without telling me or your mother where you are! We have to leave, but if you come really fast, you can see the shooting star for real."

Dad led them through their tracks. The farther in they walked, more and more branches littered the forest floor, increasing in size. Soon whole trees were knocked down too, all lines up in a row. Mom and Dad had to climb up and over and under them, walk across logs, but whenever Sirius came upon something, he just passed through it. Cassie tried it and learned the hard way, knocking her head on a particularly hard tree trunk. But soon they came on it. The shooting star.

It was a lot less glamorous up close. A giant rock. But Mom and Dad were happy and smiling and taking pictures again, so it must have meant something important.

"Look, Cass." Mom took her down into the giant crater where no snow fell. The air was hot. Little rock chiplets covered the ground, small and medium and larger pieces, but none compared to the giant thing that Mom stared at it now, enthralled. "Look, Cass," she said again. "A piece of the sky, right in our backyard."

She picked up two of the smaller rock chips, placing one in Cassie's hand. It was hot, and heavy, and kept pulling her back to the giant rock. Up close it was funny-looking and unlike any rock she'd ever seen before, all white with red lines zigzagging the surface. But then Mom scooped her back up over her shoulder and they were back in the car, heading home.

Later that night, Scott headed into the office with everything he'd found. His partner Andromeda Lichtenstein was busy running tests and feeding data through the machinery. She gave a whistle at one point. Scott looked at her expectantly. "Well? What is it?"

"This isn't just a regular piece of space junk. This is from an _actual_ space rock. Look at the red webbing, the magnetic attraction. But really, look at the red webbing. What does that remind you of? That project we're supposed to be working on?"

He shuffled through his notes. "The Europa Clipper? But—ah. Wait, this is a piece of Europa we've got sitting in the lab right now?"

"Oho, yeah. This is just a little piece of rock full of Jupiter's untested radiation; imagine how much the real thing has. Good thing we're over here and not there, huh?"

All he could think of now were the little pieces of moonrock in his home, on Amelia's work table. She was trying to fashion necklaces for the kids so they could hold a piece of the sky. The weird things Sirius did today were obviously a result of all that radiation, and he told Andromeda his thoughts. She just laughed at him.

"Now you sound crazy, Scott. From your wife maybe, but not you. It's not like it's magic, right?" Andromeda paused for a minute. "Except that's how Lyra started. She would do all these weird things, and me and Robert thought, _hey, we're scientists. This all has a logical explanation to it._ Until one day this professor shows up and tells me that Lyra is a witch and can do magic, and she needs to go to this special school in Massachusetts for it. The nerve, right? I mean, Haley and Andrew were both perfectly fine, happy children, and now I have a witch for a daughter. It's really great, actually. She can be a real asset in the office if we ever wanted her. That, and if she ever wanted to work here. Which she might one day, she thinks it really might work out once. Can you imagine it, Scott? Me and Lyra out in the office, chatting about the newest planet sighting over cups of coffee? Scott?"

But Scott had stopped paying attention in the middle of all that. Radiation might have been pushing it, but magic… in a way, it made sense. He and Amelia would have to discuss it. Because Sirius would be great at that sort of thing. Magic…

Neither of them noticed the moonrock glowing and shaking in its cage.


	2. Chapter Two: The Great Blue Light-Bulb

**Chapter Two**

**The Great Blue Light-Bulb**

_~January 3, 2019_

"Have you heard?"

"That blue explosion?"

"All over the news…"

The only talk in the school courtyard was about that transformer explosion in Queens over winter break. There was an explosion they said, and a bright blue light that took over the sky… All the kids in Staten Island couldn't see it, but Marie Taylor, a girl that came in from Manhattan every day, said she could see it from her apartment.

"Hey McClare, did you see it? Do you think it was another alien spaceship that crash-landed? Or maybe it was another shooting star that landed right near here? Is your Daddy gonna come speak to us again?"

"Oh Pop-Pop, don't be silly. I bet she only spread the story. Probably just another science experiment failure that she had to cover up. You gonna come to school covered in blue dye again, McClare?"

Cassie McClare was in yet another conundrum. This time, it was Poppy Adams and Coralee Wright. That blue dye thing was one time, and a complete fluke—she'd learned that one from a book. The dictionary, to be precise. And she wondered why she had no friends, with all her books and star charts and science experiments—

"You heard Marie, Coralee. It was on the news. Or do your parents think your ears are too precious to hear about what's really going on in the world?"

Coralee pushed back her mane of blonde hair and snubbed her nose in the air. "No one asked your opinion, June. Why don't you go back to public school where you came from?"

Cassie jumped up, green eyes blazing. "At least she worked hard to get in, unlike someone else we know. Don't listen to 'em June, you're smarter than both of them combined."

"She's got a funny way of showing it," Poppy said with a flick of her ponytail. "Even you speak more than her, and the only time you talk is when you're answering a question."

"And we all know how often Ms. Anderson calls on her for questions," said Coralee.

The schoolyard around them was silent and centered around the four girls. Coralee and Poppy on one end of the circle, Cassie on the other end and June behind her. Then the bell rang loudly, scaring the wits out of some of the first graders and sending everyone inside to the warm recesses of the classrooms.

Snow began to fall, slowly at first but then thick and fast. School would have to be closed if it didn't let up, but that didn't stop anything. By lunchtime, the Wright Brothers Elementary School had to close. Coralee and Poppy were overjoyed at the fact, and couldn't stop gloating at the history test they wouldn't have to take that afternoon.

"You should come to my house," Cassie whispered in June's ear, walking home. "Because yours is farther away and all. It's really not as bad as Poppy and Coralee make it out to be—what?"

Because June was staring at her with something akin to amazement. "That's twice you've spoken to me. No one speaks to me." Her voice was quiet, probably from lack of use, ever.

"Someone should. No one really talks to me either—I guess I never speak to people myself, and that's different. I used to though…"

Cassie let June in the door, showed her into the kitchen and took some cookies from the jar on the counter. They were glazed all different colors and speckled with white chocolate. June munched on hers thoughtfully.

"How do you know?"

"Know what?" Cassie asked through a mouthful of cookie.

"That I'm smart. Smarter than Poppy and Coralee."

"To be really honest, I think even the first graders are smarter than them. I guess they're all right in their own way, but you got in from public school. If you can do that, you've got to be better than just the average kid. Not to say that public school kids aren't smart—now I sound really bad—but I've been in a fair few of them 'cause my mom teaches. I help tutor one of the kids in history and math because God knows no one likes that stuff except me."

"By no one, I hope you just mean Poppy and Coralee. They don't like anything."

By the time Mom came home, June and Cassie were holed up in Cassie's room, "experimenting." And by experimenting, they were just playing around with shampoo and shaving cream and maybe a dash of food coloring or paint. The goop had to be thrown out and June had to leave, but Mom said June could come over anytime, as long as they promised to clean up after themselves next time.

That night, Cassie was up late again, writing to Sirius. He hadn't come home for the winter holidays and thus missed the explosion.

_I wish I could have seen it, Sirius, seen it live in the sky. Wish you could have seen it too, to be honest, because then you could tell those kids that I'm normal too, and that Dad isn't just a crackpot, he really does work for NASA and builds rockets and all that stuff. And I wish I could see you more too. _

As the clock struck twelve, a flash of blue lit up the night sky. Cassie looked at it from the window, imprinting it into her memory. It was beautiful really, the sky that precise shade of blue. A very unnatural thing, but most things ended up being beautiful in an unnatural way.

Except that the next day, Poppy and Coralee were more insufferable. "Exactly a week later and there's another flash. And this time, my mom said that no one knows what happened. What do you think of that, McClare? What did you do this time?"

"You haven't read any Ray Bradbury, have you, Poppy?" June said quietly. "He's got books on science fiction, aliens and people going to live on other planets. People make livings off these ideas. Maybe they were just filming a movie and they can't tell that to the reporters or else the movie's shot. Or maybe she just doesn't want _you_ telling _us_ what happened there. Just give it a rest."

Poppy's eyes popped open. Coralee's jaw dropped. But then a girl named Barbie Fairchild started to applaud, and Marie Taylor, and soon the whole class was clapping too, until Ms. Anderson came back.

"I'm sure everyone is very much intrigued by these transformer explosions. In our exploration of the solar system next month, this class is taking a trip to the planetarium. Cassie's dad Dr. McClare is also showing us the excavation site where that meteorite from Jupiter's moon Europa crash-landed seven years ago. The notices are going out now, so we don't have parents calling and complaining about uninformed notice. Even though they already know we send out notices at least two weeks in advance. But there you go."

"I heard about that," June told her by lunch. "That your dad discovered it. Wonder what it looks like."

Cassie clutched the moonrock around her neck. "Yeah," she murmured, "I wonder."

* * *

By next month, Dad was back at home with star maps and rocket plans and lists of potential astronaut candidates for this machine he was building. He was gone more than one night at a time, out in his Manhattan office, doing whatever it was he couldn't do in his office in Washington DC. Mom would be out with him too sometimes, she found when she woke up in the middle of the night.

That was recent, those sleepless nights. The house would be quiet, and empty, and sometimes she would find Dad's partner's daughter, Candy Lichtenstein, laid out on the couch. The knowledge that at least one adult she was comfortable with was there was something of a comfort. But comparing that to having her parents at home, for real… it wasn't the same.

Trip day was after one late night too many. Cassie couldn't keep her eyes open; the whole night she'd stayed by her window, waiting for Mom and Dad to come home. They never did, and it was Lyra Lichtenstein-Sanders who had to wake her up in the morning.

Even during her Dad's speech about Europa, she couldn't keep awake. June had to keep poking her, and if that didn't work, Poppy and Coralee's giggles were loud enough to shake her.

But when they had to go outside to see the crater, Cassie jolted more awake. "I've been here before. Me and Sirius… right here somewhere."

The sand had covered the tracks from years ago, but the debris in the forest was still somewhat the same. It was all coming back now, the moonrock, Mom and Dad yelling at them—Sirius had gone in the bay in January.

"There's something in the water. Or near the water. I went in once, followed my brother—it was in middle of the winter, New Year's Day, and the water was warm, we were dry—"

"Cass. That's not possible. Water by definition makes things wet—"

"You've never met my brother Sirius. Believe me, he could tell you what's possible or no anymore."

Cassie stepped up to the frothing beach now, let her shoes soak in the water. They _felt_ wet; the cold seeping into her shoes was unmistakable. But was it real? An illusion?

"Don—Cass—I'm gonna call your Dad and Ms. Anderson and you're gonna be grounded for life—"

Too late. Cassie jumped in, letting the water engulf her. But instead of that familiar warm feeling she knew she'd felt before, it was cold. Terrifyingly cold. Shock spread to all her limbs, locking them in place. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. She was gonna freeze down here, all alone. What made her think she was like Sirius, anyway? Smart Sirius in his smart magic school—

There was an underwater cavern right by her feet. Revitalizing, Cassie kicked, forcing her limbs into action. And with a splash—

She was back. In a cove above ground. She could see the bus from here. And through the cove here was a path leading to a clearing. Or what looked like one, full of flowers and green trees and whatever else should certainly be dead in the middle of the winter.

"Cassiopeia Montgomery McClare."

No kidding now, Dad was furious at her. For sleeping the whole lesson, leaving the group, giving everyone the scare of their lives. June had never looked so terrified, save that one time when she had to give over a report in the beginning of the year, before she'd met Cassie. But now she looked scared.

"We will be having some words when we get home."

Those words did not bode well.

"Cassiopeia. Montgomery. McClare. What exactly was it you were hoping to accomplish today?" Dad was using his soft voice. He never got so angry unless he was using that voice. "Jumping into the New York Bay in freezing weather—who do you think you are, Sirius? Sirius, who has magic, and is training in this sort of thing? Do you think he could have survived?"

"How do you think I did? He's done it before, Dad, and I've done it too, this is the second time I've done it, honest. It all just felt so familiar—"

"So you thought it would be a good idea to repeat the feat? Hmm, last time I went into a freezing bay I was three years old and could have gotten hypothermia. Let me see if I can do it again, just because I'm older and smarter now. Did you honestly think you could swim your way out of it?"

Cassie sighed. "You're right. I didn't think. I can't think, because I haven't been sleeping. And I haven't been sleeping because whenever I wake up in the middle of the night, you're not here, Mom's not here, and the only other person in this house besides me is Candy Lichtenstein. How safe do you think I think this house is, even with Candy?"

Dad rubbed his head, reminiscent of Sirius. "There's a big project Cass, one that I need your Mom's help with, and Lyra's… sweetheart, if I didn't think Candy could take care of you, she wouldn't be here. And I'm not saying things haven't been hard, they've been real hard, especially for you, I imagine. But nothing, absolutely nothing, gives you permission to start playing around because you think we haven't been paying attention to you."

"That's not what I said at all, but if that's where you want to go, fine. Not having you at home wasn't as bad, because at least then I knew where you were. But now, you're nowhere. You're never here, I can never talk to anyone because they're not here either, and all day I have to listen to Poppy and Coralee talk about what's the next science experiment you've failed with this week. You don't know what they say, do you? They all think the reason you're not at home is because you're hiding from me. Maybe there's something wrong with you… or there's something wrong with me."

"Sweetheart, you know that's not true—"

"It might be truer than you think. Knock knock."

It was an unfamiliar voice. And it was right in the middle of their living room.


	3. Chapter Three: Game Over

**Chapter Three**

**Game Over**

"Dad? How is there a stranger in our living room?"

But Dad laughed. "Neville! Been a long time since I've seen you. Hope Sirius didn't get into trouble again, did he? He and that Potter boy and your daughter?"

"What? No, Sirius is fine, Scott. It's Cassie I want to talk to."

Cassie stared at him until recognition slapped her in the face. Professor Longbottom was the man who'd come to tell Sirius about magic and the special Hogwarts School, or something like that. "Why do you want to talk to me? You don't think I'm magic, do you?"

Neville, or Professor Longbottom, laughed. "Please tell me that what you did today doesn't constitute magic. Your brother did the same thing when I came 'round here the first time. What other crazy things have you been up to?"

"Nothing—" she almost said, but that wasn't true. It wasn't true, because weird things had been happening for ages, ever since that time they went to find the shooting star and had come up from the bay perfectly warm and dry. Things that couldn't have been anything else but magic.

There was the time when Poppy and Coralee were laughing at her after the blue dye incident. Laughing and laughing until they started to croak like frogs every time they opened their mouths. It didn't stop for two days after the incident.

Another time her team was losing in baseball, ten to seven. The ball that she'd batted had simply picked itself up and flown over the wall, guaranteeing them a win.

And of course, there was that strange blue glow that had taken over the sky a few nights ago.

"So I'm a—I'm going—really?"

"Didn't you come here later on, when you explained all this to Sirius? Early March?" said Dad.

"Hah. Our Divination professor, Cassandra Sophia Apson, saw that you two would blow up sometime today, so I thought I'd better come clean the air here before that happened." Professor Longbottom pulled an envelope from his robes. "I believe this belongs to you."

There were three parchment sheets in there, but only the first one she knew by heart from all the times she'd stared at it in Sirius's room. The boy had it framed, for heaven's sake.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Morwen Snow

_Dear _Ms. McClare_, _ _  
_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _ _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. _ _Yours sincerely, _

Neville Longbottom

_Deputy Headmaster_

"I have my son going next year too," Longbottom was telling Dad. "Frank. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley each have one going too—I think even Ollivander also does. The books they can reuse if you want, but there's new robes, telescopes, vials and potions ingredients, a wand… Did I take you around the first time?"

"I may or may not still have stocks of butterbeer left in my fridge from that last time—"

"How does she know?" Cassie asked. Dad and Longbottom both turned to her. "How did she know I can do magic? Does she know everyone that can?"

"We do have a giant magic book that writes down the name of every magical British child ever born. There's also the Department of International Magical Cooperation office in the Ministry—that's our government. The Ministry here in America knows about all the wizards here, just like our Ministry knows about all the British wizards. And because your Dad came from Britain, you and your brother ended up on both lists. You didn't think we just guessed, did you?"

"Could've fooled me."

Cassie twisted the parchment into a tight roll. "What about my life here? My friends? What about June?"

Longbottom sighed and shifted in his robes. "We do have an International Statute of Secrecy for a reason, though already they're thinking about tearing that down. Muggles aren't supposed to know about us you see. It's in our blood—we're different, that's all there is to it. Jealousy and all that, you see. That's why the Statute was made. How many stories have you heard of witch burnings and the like? So it was made then and just never changed. I'm sorry, but if your friend June is a Muggle—and I can tell you for a fact that she is, because there's no 'June' on our list of students this year—then she can't know."

Another sigh, and Longbottom turned to go. "Your brother will be sending an owl in a day or two, so I'll leave you to expect that. I'll see you in the summer, Cassie." Then he took an object from his pocket, a glowing red ball that was tinged blue, and he was gone.

* * *

The weather stayed cold and miserable, just like her thoughts. There was no one to talk to about this enormous change in her life, not even Sirius. How was she supposed to talk to him, without a way to sending him letters without an owl? And she couldn't tell June. Sirius used to have a friend too. Ollie Rosenthal. Wonder what he was up to these days.

It didn't take long to figure it out. The weather finally stopped being ferocious for a day in the middle of April. Right around the time that Sirius was home for spring break. What a coincidence. Even better, she found them both out in the park, tossing a baseball to each other. Her brother, the ever-studious Sirius, was playing ball in the park. That certainly had to be magic, if nothing else was.

"Cassie!" Ollie called. "Haven't seen you in a while either! And here I got the pleasure of seein' both of you on the same day. What's the occasion?"

She pointed to the sky. "First nice day since November. What did you do to bring my brother out here?"

"Baseball, every American's favorite sport. If I was coaching Little League today, I could even show you how great they are, Sirius. No way you'd be able to even out-pitch them."

"I can't out-pitch you, I can't outrun you… Next you'll say I can't out-study you either, and we both know that'd be a lie."

Did Ollie know? About Sirius? Sirius may have been a good secret-keeper, but how did he just… Ollie had been his best friend before Hogwarts. How do you not tell your best friend about what makes you as a person? And most importantly, how could she not tell June?

"Because the Ministry said so," Sirius told her later that night. "You compartmentalize and move on. Although I think they might be changing that Statute of Secrecy law soon, so you might not even have to wait that long. I didn't tell Ollie, and look what a right state we're in."

"Oh yes. Two boys who haven't seen each other in three years, barely see each other on vacations. Best of friends. Did you know he coaches the Little League? Would you have cared to know? Does he know? About what you do now? How different your lives have become?"

"Friends… can grow apart." Sirius fumbled for words. "We're just… different now. If you need a wizard friend to talk to, I understand—I can ask Felicity, or Alice or James, they've all got younger sibs coming in—"

"I was perfectly fine with my own, the only one I actually managed to do all on my own."

He threw up his hands. "So write her a letter. Don't send it, for heaven's sake, but just write it. Get it out of your system." And then he was gone to go play catch with his baseball again.

_Junebug_

_I can't tell you. Of course I can't. Haven't ever been really great at the whole speaking to other people thing, in case you haven't realized. It would be so amazing if you could do magic, just like me, and then we'd be able to go to my brother's fancy hoity-toity school up in Scotland together. Beat them all out of the park in math and sciences and history. And think of the magic, June, think of learning spells and flying so high you could touch the clouds. I wish there was a way I could make you understand how I feel, why I can't talk anymore to anyone, not even you. Because if I do, then I'll spill this wonderful secret that I need to keep, and then… maybe I'll be able to convince them to let you come. Either both of us come, or none. _

But she took his advice. She didn't send it. God knows she wanted to. People were all different on the outside, but their insides were all the same, they were all made of the same stuff. Weren't they?

_Junebug_

_Great news for me—or not so great, depending on the feeling. Remember that cool Advanced Learning school my brother goes to in Britain? They've come for me. I should've stuck my head down more, like you, but now I'm stuck. I gotta go. Sirius and my Dad and the Professor all want me to go. So when you don't see me next year, remember I'm stuck in Britain for the next seven years of my life. I'll send you letters all the time, but it's not the same being without you. I'm leaving in the summer, so I guess these school days are the last time I'll ever see you before summer vacation next year. Trust me, I'll be thinking about you. A lot. You've got it all right. But for me, it's game over. _

* * *

**A/N:**

**Hi all! Hope you are all enjoying this but it'd be real nice to know what you think! Reviews are very much welcome ;)**

**Have a lovely day! **


	4. Chapter Four: The Crooked Street

**Chapter Four**

**The Crooked Street**

_~August __2__5__, __2019_

_Sirius—_

_You better be coming to Diagon Alley sometime soon. Lily is driving me mad about you and your sister, and I can't survive with Alice and Frank together. You can come stay in The Leaky Cauldron with us, and then we can all go to King's Cross together. Just answer back quickly, or I swear Lily is going to burst. _

—_James. _

"So that's it. You just want me to meet your best friend's sister and think that it'll work with us too It's not good enough that I couldn't write to June all summer?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, something that had become more common since going to Hogwarts. "You didn't want to just write to June. Oh no, you wanted to _owl her, and tell her all about magic! _Cass, they're having debated about the whole Statute of Secrecy thing anyway. Can't you wait until it's over?"

"I shouldn't have to. 'God created all men equal,' it's in our Constitution. And I'm pretty sure it means that I can tell June if I want. What makes us different enough that I've got magic and she does not? What makes us different than Dad and Mom? What've we got that they don't got?"

"Magic," Sirius said, laughing. "I'd say we've got magic. That's like asking, _Why are you a girl and I'm not? Why do you have white skin and June's is black? Why does James get freckles in the sun, Alice tans, and I burn up to a shiny crisp?_ No one knows why or how we've got magic, Cass, people have researched it for decades. I know. I studied it too. It's one of those great mysteries in life that it makes you wonder why the Ravenclaw door knocker doesn't ask that, and gives stupid riddles instead, like _why is a raven like a writing desk?_ Believe me, if she had magic like you, you'd know. It's—the whole idea is just still unexplained, unexplored—"

"It's fine, I get it. You can stop trying to unexplain it to me. Obviously the smart house isn't smart enough after all."

"It's not the smart one, it's the wise and creative one!" he called after her, but Cassie didn't listen. Didn't listen, or didn't want to listen? Good god, what was the difference at this point?

Cassie didn't talk to him for the rest of the day. Nor the next day, or even the day after that. That day was easiest; they did nothing but drive for eight hours, from Edinburgh and Grandma and Grandpa Campbell, all the way to London. And by the end of that trip, Cassie didn't need anything better to do than flop into the nearest bed and sleep properly.

It was Sirius that had to tell Dad where to stop the car, because he and Mom weren't able to see the place. Neither could she at first, to be honest. Once Sirius had pointed it out though, she wondered how she didn't see it in the first place: a very attractively painted sign of a bubbling pot. _The Leaky Cauldron, rooms to let._

"What kind of a hotel is this?" She asked, then instantly regretted it. Her silent treatment of Sirius was still ongoing.

The inside of the place was much bigger on the inside, impossibly so, and brightly lit even at seven o'clock in the evening. Most of the tables stood empty, but every now and again was a family sitting with packages dropped all around them. In the center of the side wall was a giant fireplace, roaring even in the midst of the summer heat, but somehow not making the room feel stuffy and hotter than usual.

Sirius took off the second they got in the door, bee-lining for a girl Cassie could only assume was his referenced Alice friend. He didn't bother to help lug in any suitcases either, though he wasn't really needed for it in the end; the woman behind the counter, Madame Longbottom ("Like Professor Longbottom's wife?" "No, no relation at all," Dad said with a straight face.), just did some magic and the bags all floated upstairs after her. She showed them into rooms 10 and 11 before heading back downstairs to deal with the rest of her customers.

"Cass? Cassie sweetheart? Dad and I are going downstairs; Madame Longbottom is getting some dinner for us. Are you coming?" Mom even poked her head inside the room, but Cassie just rolled over in the bed, eyes closed.

When their footsteps receded down the stairs, Cassie opened her eyes and hopped out the bed onto the window seat. The window overlooked the back of the hotel, an empty back lot with nothing but an overflowing trashcan for company. But there were no streetlamps or any other sources of light; when it got dark, it'd be real dark, and the stars would be visible. Or should be.

She sat there entranced for a minute, maybe ten, maybe an hour. Until her peace and quiet were broken by a hammering on the door. Just as Cassie got up to open it, the door burst open all on its own with a boy around her age standing in its wake.

"Oh," was all he said for a minute, then, "you're not a hologram, are you?"

Cassie stared at him and shook her head.

"Good. I thought if Alice and Charlotte really wanted me up here so bad, it had to be like a monster in the closet or something, but the joke's on them. I've got a Kneazle—well, almost got one, we're gonna pick him up as soon as we go back to Diagon Alley for shopping. Want some treacle tart?"

He held it out to her, a slice of pie with gooey golden filling that he somehow managed to not get all over his fingers. Cassie stared at it for a full minute. "Are you sure you want to be sharing that with me?"

"Hey, as long as you're not a hologram or waiting to prank me, I'm fine. I've got more downstairs, if that's what you're worried about. I'm Frank, by the way. Frank Longbottom."

Now Cassie could see the resemblance. He had a lot of Professor Longbottom in his face, but his hair was blonde and smooth and eyes the blueness of a summer day's sky. "Cassie McClare. Just don't expect us to be friends from this," she said, taking a bite of tart. It was sweet and sticky and full of caramel-tasting goodness.

Frank shrugged. "Sirius is your brother then? All I know is that A. he's the guy that ends up eating all my treacle and B, Alice gets into this mood of making especially bad puns when he's around."

"Yeah, you're better off running when that happens. Nothing good can ever happen when my brother starts acting goofy. He's just about the prediction that the world is gonna end."

"As soon as I get that Kneazle, he won't be stealing my treacle ever again. Are you coming to Diagon Alley with us tomorrow? I think my Dad waited 'specially for yours."

"That would just be really creepy. What's a Kneazle?"

"Just about one of the awesomest creatures in the world. You should read _Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them_, it'll tell you everything. 'Course I think part-Kneazles are less expensive and cuter, but whatever Dad says is fine with me. I just need one. They've got a sense of good and evil you see. They're practically watchdogs, but in cat form. Great, right?"

"Hey. If it does the job and stops Sirius from messing with this stuff, I'm game. You said you got more of this stuff, right?"

They ended up staying awake late into the night, late being only ten by the time Dad and Longbottom found them. Until they did though, Frank had shown her around the whole hotel, brought her into the kitchens to gorge out on treacle and Chocolate Frogs, and been in his room. One wall was covered, floor to ceiling, in the little cards. Most prominent, not surprisingly, was his dad.

But by the next morning, there was more noise than ever before. Downstairs were the Potters, James and Al and Lily, who'd be starting at Hogwarts too.

"I hope you're all ready to go," Dad said by the breakfast table, "because money's already changed, so we're good to go. Sirius, you don't mind going with—"

Sirius and the James high-fived with Alice. "Awesome."

Professor Longbottom would come with Dad to watch her, Frank, and Lily, while Mom went with Mrs. Potter, Lily's brother Al and Frank's sister Charlotte. Sirius, overjoyed, was going with Alice, James and _the_ Harry Potter—the only reason she remembered was from Frank's Chocolate Frog card wall. It was decided to meet up by Ollivander's at the end of the day, to watch them get their wands, then move on from there. Frank's Kneazle shopping would have to wait another day if there wasn't enough time.

"First things first, you all need new robes," Professor Longbottom said once everybody set off in their separate ways. "Madame Malkin's, in you go."

The witch there was nice enough; she stood them all up on stools to fix their robes to just the right length where they wouldn't drag all over the floor. Personally, Cassie liked them long, gliding behind her, until she tripped over the extra train. Frank and Lily were laughing, her face was bright red, and then there was another first year customer in the store to get fitted, a girl named Dorcas Meadows.

Once they were out of that store, they were Galleons lighter and several thin boxes heavier. The packages only grew higher as they went into the apothecary for ingredients and vials, scales, a cauldron and telescope. In Flourish and Blotts, they met Mom and Mrs. Potter, Mom reading a book on wizarding photographs. Dad decided to stay with them for a little while.

Still with some time, Longbottom took them out for ice cream by a place called Fortescue's; Cassie secured a triple chocolate scoop with caramel drizzle, while Frank bought a vanilla-raspberry with chopped nuts and Lily got a banana split mess with chocolate sauce. And still, somehow no one else was ready, so Longbottom took Frank and Cassie to find Frank's new pet Kneazle.

The Magical Menagerie could have been bigger on the inside like the Leaky Cauldron and still not make a difference. The walls had wall-to-ceiling coverage of cages, taking up all of the room. And the smell… it stank to high heaven like a farm. That was basically the place. A wizard farm. Inside a storefront on the street.

"You know that bloke who wrote _Fantastic Beasts_?" Frank whispered to her. "Newt Scamander? He had entire habitats. For his animals. Inside of his _suitcase_. This is normal, really—aww, look at the baby Kneazles!"

There was a whole litter of them, bright-eyed and fluffy-haired. Frank had to take them all out and pet them one by one, but when he held the last one, a gray ball of fur with yellow eyes, he couldn't let go. "I'm gonna name you Newt. You make sure that Sirius and Alice and James never touch my treacle again, understand?"

The cat nodded at him very seriously. With the same seriousness, Frank put Newt on the counter. "I'm taking him. Isn't he cute Cassie? Cass—"

She was still looking at the Kneazles. One of them was looking right back after, a brown and white calico cat with big green eyes like her own. The cat purred and rubbed its back against her hand, closing its eyes in pleasure as it did, and Cassie couldn't look away.

"She definitely likes you." The store-owner nodded at her. "Kneazles don't usually take to humans, but they're great protectors. She's the runt and the nicest one of the litter. You can have her for ten Galleons, nine Sickles."

"Oh, I—I don't have the money, I'm not sure where my Dad is at the moment—"

But Longbottom put some money over the counter anyway. "He can pay me back later, and I don't think he'll want to come back for a while—is that him outside?"

"Oh good lord."

A purple bus was weaving violently through the streets, Dad staring at it in horror. He looked as though he was about to be sick.

"Neville! We've been looking for you all day!"

Mr. Potter was coming towards them down the street, Alice, Sirius, and James running ahead. Sirius looked around at the packages, obviously searching for something specific. "Where's your owl? You're gonna get an owl, right?"

Then he spotted the cat. "A cat. You could have gotten an owl, send messages back home, but… you got a cat. How is—"

He didn't get to finish because both cats hissed at him.

"Yeah, that's right. You better watch out now, because there are two Kneazles watching my treacle." Frank petted Newt fondly.

Cassie picked up her cat and petted the soft fur. "What Frank said. You've got an owl. I made my own choice and if you wanted to influence my decision, you should've been there."

"I think we're up to wands now," Longbottom said quickly. "Come on, Frank, Lily, Cassie."

Ollivander's was the best shop of all, all quiet and still with the scent of forgotten magic. A lone bell announced their arrival, causing a girl their age to pop up from behind the counter. "Incoming!" she called before disappearing again, and a couple came out from the back.

"Neville, welcome back. I trust your wand is still in good working condition. Cherry and unicorn hair?"

"You've got your uncle's memory, Merc. These three are going to need new wands for Hogwarts. Frank, Lily, Cassie, meet Mercury Ollivander, his wife February, and daughter July. She's going to join you in Hogwarts this September, am I right?" He pronounced the girl's name like the month.

"It's Julie with a 'y', Neville. But aside from that, you always are." Ollivander stared for a long moment at the three of them with silvery eyes that matched the silver in his red hair. "I can recall every wand that I've ever sold for the past thirty years; it must be an Ollivander thing. I sold wands to both of your sisters, Mr. Longbottom, both of your brothers, Ms. Potter, and to your brother, Ms. McClare. Larch and unicorn hair to Alice; aspen and unicorn hair to Charlotte; redwood and dragon heartstring to James; alder and phoenix feather to Albus; and red oak with a Thunderbird feather for Sirius. Let's see what you all get, shall we?"

A tape measure darted around, measuring the three of them, while Mrs. Ollivander climbed up shelves and dropped down boxes. When the tape measure crumpled in a heap on the floor, Ollivander opened one of the boxes to show off the contents.

"Let's start you with this, Mr. Longbottom. Pear and dragon heartstring, thirteen inches, stiff. Try it out, go on."

But no sooner did Frank take it when Ollivander snatched it from him. "That's not right, that's not right..."

Mrs. Ollivander presented him with a wand instead. "I have just the one for you. Acacia and dragon heartstring, thirteen and a quarter inches, springy. I think you'll really like this one..."

He took it and waved it, causing the glass from the front window to shatter. Mrs. Ollivander snatched that one from him too.

"I think he's more of a Kneazle whisker kind of bloke," the girl called July said, opening up a box. "Try this one. Chestnut and Kneazle whisker, thirteen inches, slightly pliable."

Frank took it again and waved it, a look of euphoria on his face. The room glowed brighter, highlighting the sparkles in the air. "Yeah," he said drunkenly, "it's really good..."

"Nicely done, July!" Mr. Ollivander high-fived his daughter. "The Kneazle whisker idea really clinched it, I think. Chestnut prefers wizards with a skill for taming magical beasts, those with talents in Herbology, and those who are great fliers. I do think you would happen to possess all three, especially with your young Kneazle over there.

"Ms. McClare, you're up. Let's see what we can fix you up with. Apple and phoenix feather, twelve inches, give it a wave—no, that's definitely not it," he said as the wand sent a jet of fire at the shelves.

"Try a poplar and phoenix feather," Mrs. Ollivander pressed. "Noooo, not that one—"

"Cedar and dragon heartstring?"

"Beech and unicorn hair—"

"I think we're close. Hornbeam and unicorn hair, twelve and a quarter inches—"

But July took it even as she tried to wave it. "The hornbeam is good," she said slowly. "I like the hornbeam for you. I think you're a Thunderbird kind of girl. Do you have one, Mum?"

A warmth spread through her fingers as she took the new wand now. With a blinding flash, several cheerful yellow birds fluttered from the tip, which Ollivander vanished with a wave of his wand.

"Hornbeam wands usually choose those with a single, burning passion—an obsession of sorts, some might call it. They also personalize to the witch or wizard in question and will absorb your code of honor so that it will never go against your principles. It certainly looks like a good fit for you.

"Onto Ms. Potter over here. July, what say you first?"

They went through the process again, taking much faster. Lily had only tried one of Cassie's rejects, then one of Frank's, until she was presented with her wand. "Reed and dragon heartstring," Mr. Ollivander said, nodding. "Best suited for bold and eloquent speakers, and protective friends. I hope we hear about your adventures someday."

With all their packages in tow, Cassie followed Professor Longbottom back to the Leaky Cauldron. Mom, Dad, and Sirius were all sitting with drinks and wide grins. "How's it feel, Cass? You all ready?"

Cassie held her Kneazle up to rub her face against the fur. "I think I'm more ready now than I'll ever be."


	5. Chapter Five: Clock Strikes

**Chapter Five**

**Clock Strikes**

The days to September the first ticked down quickly, each day bringing more and more people to the Leaky Cauldron. By the last day of August, there were so many redheaded people that Cassie couldn't find a single unoccupied space. They were all Lily's cousins, she was told, from her mother's four brothers. It looked like the whole building was on fire.

They all had a grand meal together for the last day before they were off to Hogwarts. Sirius, of course, went to sit with his friends, and Cassie stuck to Frank like a stubborn piece of treacle, and her Kneazle Puff was physically attached to her leg. Too many people… there were way too many people.

Having Puff was a terribly extraordinary amount of fun. Cassie heard a tale (she snorted at her own pun) that James and Alice had snuck into the kitchens, only to be chased out with howls and screeches and two pissed off Kneazles. Puff had also taken to hissing at Sirius's owl Theo. True, he had a deep hoot that would make Puff scurry up to her shoulder, but the intent was there.

But finally, thank the wizard god, it was time for bed. Sirius and his friends only complained halfheartedly; no one wanted to be tired for the Hogwarts Express.

The morning was more hectic than it needed to be. Trunks kept magically floating down the stairs, owl cages and cat boxes lining up against the door. Last minute scuffles included James being a sulk, which led to Sirius being a sulk; Alice dragging her planter and spilling dirt all over the floor; and one of the other Weasley boys having his hair turned a horrid shade of mucus green, but he just laughed it off, actually sporting it to King's Cross Station.

Actually, she knew that Weasley's name. It was Louis, and the only reason she did remember it was because he was the only Weasley boy without the red hair. The Potters had black hair and Hugo Weasley she'd already met as Lily's cousin, best friend, and age-mate going to Hogwarts. And Sirius spoke of this "Louis" often enough anyway.

"Does everyone really come here for Hogwarts? Seems a little bit conspicuous, don't you think?" Cassie asked by King's Cross station.

Frank shrugged. "This is how it's been since the station was built. Originally the kids all had to Apparate or Portkey in, but honestly, this is the most convenient thing that exists at the moment. Watch Alice and you'll know what I mean."

He nodded over to Alice, who was wheeling her trunk and trolley towards the barriers between platforms nine and ten. A train had pulled up by platform nine, an InterCity125, but everyone on the platform had their heads turned to the girl who ran head-first into the barrier and just _vanished_.

"And Muggles still don't believe in magic?" Cassie shook her head as Sirius and James disappeared into the wall next. "Not after seeing that?"

"You think this is bad? You missed two years ago, Alice's second year. Station was so full, even we couldn't get around that day. More than usual. Really weird. And thank Merlin, it shouldn't ever happen again."

He grunted with his trolley, and Cassie pushed hers to match him. Frank grinned. "They say it goes faster if you run, but I think you're just more liable for a concussion if you miss. Hope you're ready for that option."

"Bet I can beat you to the platform then."

She broke into a run towards the barrier, trolley flying in front of her, eyes squeezed shut and waiting for impact…

She was still running. Cassie opened her eyes and slowed to a stop in a totally different place. A wooden sign flapped above her in a breath of steam, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. She'd made it, again. She was going to Hogwarts.

Sirius helped lug her trunk onto the train, dumping it into the first empty compartment he saw. Well, it wasn't really empty—another trunk was already there, hidden under the window seat. But already he was dragging her off the train to say goodbye to Mom and Dad one last time.

Instead of that though, Mom stood about issuing last-minute instructions. They sounded something like: "Sirius, let Cassie use your owl to send letters if she needs. Cassie, don't sic your cat on Sirius every time he annoys you. And Sirius, I never thought I'd have to say this, especially to you—please don't get in trouble. Behave. Because I don't need another fourteen owls about how you've gotten detention because of some prank war with those Huff-Puff boys."

"_Hufflepuff_, Mom." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Hufflepuff. Mrs. Meadows tells me all about the good grades her Felicity gets and how she still has time for some magical research project or another—that's what I want to hear about you. You certainly have the head for it. And you too, Cassie, don't you forget it."

And then the train whistle was blowing, the great clock striking eleven, and the Hogwarts Express was on the move. Dad and Mom ran after it, waving until the train rounded a bend and the station disappeared out of sight.

"You know what?" Sirius rubbed his chin. "I think I might actually go see Felicity now, as a matter of fact. You don't mind me leaving, right? I'll be down the train if you need me." And he was gone too.

Cassie went into her trunk's compartment, perhaps to write June yet another forbidden letter, maybe read one of Sirius's old school books, or even just sit with Puff and watch the scenery go by. A girl, probably the other trunk's owner, was already inside reading. Fine. That's what she'd do.

Funny thing about Sirius's books. They looked normal and innocent enough… until you got to the middle. It was gradual, but they were slowly covered up in doodles, hastily drawn notes, and scribbled conversations. Very colorful conversations.

She was in middle of reading_ The Standard Book of Spells_ when a head poked inside the compartment. "Is this emp—oh. Look at that. We've got a serious case of aristo-crap in here."

The other girl twitched but remained silent, head buried in her book. The door opened fully to reveal a head that was more face than hair, stacked on a tall, thin body. The more hair-than-face bit was because she had a pixie cut from the looks of it, or had just gotten it chopped really short for some reason. "I said," she continued in a louder voice than normal, "we've got a serious case of aristo-crap in here. Go home, terrorist!"

She was up so fast, Cassie was sure she must have missed her moving. Her wand was in her hands without so much as a flick, and Cassie pulled out her wand to try and be of some help, scrambling to think of spells or something to help them—

"Is there a problem here, Queenie, Kale?"

Cassie worked really hard to hold in her snort at such a ridiculous name. The girl with the wand stowed hers away while the perpetrator turned around, staring at the badge on the newcomer's chest. "Oh no, Head Girl ma'am. Just being on my merry way."

As the girl flounced off, the Head Girl turned to them. "What did she really do, Queenie?"

"Usual." Queenie blushed furiously. "Listen, Lady, I'm fine. We can handle a few insults in our life. I'll get over it."

"It's not okay," Lady said, shaking her head. "I happen to know Kale, in case you didn't notice. And I can't exactly keep watching her all the time. Ravenclaws and their fantastically complicated riddles. But I _can_ have you telling me if she's doing something like that again. Or at least tell a professor. Don't hole up here yourself."

"Lady. I'm fine. Just please stop worrying about me." Queenie was becoming redder by the minute, eyes on Cassie watching the entire exchange."

"Queenie Astoria Frost, you listen to me. If you don't tell me, I will have Andrew actually tail you to make sure you're okay, and we both know how _unstealthy_ he is. Or I can have him tail Kale and have her know about it. Those are your options, Queenie."

"I don't think so." Queenie twisted her wand between her fingers. "I told you to stop worrying about me. _Flipendo_."

Lady was thrown onto the floor with a bang. She nodded. "Nice job. Don't think that means anything." And she turned around and left.

"She's my sister, in case you were wondering." Queenie said it quietly, without looking at her.

Cassie gulped. "Didn't doubt it for a minute. D'you learn that just now?"

"Been waiting for an excuse to use it on her for ages. Older siblings are just so overprotective sometimes, especially when you have people on your back all the time. Just because they had to deal with it doesn't mean that I can't. I'm Queenie Frost, by the way. Queenie Astoria Frost, but I guess you would have known that from eavesdropping on my sister's and my conversation."

"Maybe you guys could've had it somewhere else."

They ended up chatting easily enough for a little bit. Queenie knew a lot about the Wizarding world, had a brother and sister both at Hogwarts, and her mother had gone there too. She knew about the four Houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin; about the classes, various potions and spells by heart; and she had a lot to say about Quidditch. Her favorite team was called the Appleby Arrows, but there were American teams too.

An old lady with a pushcart came around one-thirty while the train passed nothing but green fields of sheep and cow. Queenie bought Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a Licorice Wand each, and a stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share. Cassie stopped trying the beans after tasting a rotten egg flavor.

Once their sugar pile diminished enough, Queenie had the brilliant idea to teach her the Knockback Jinx, the spell she'd done on her sister. It ended up with lots of bruises, lots of laughter, lots of noise, and a friend.

The sky was already turning dark once they somehow managed to create a minuscule light at the tip of their wands. After quickly changing into robes, Cassie and Queenie stared out the window for the last few moments before the Express came to a halt outside the station.

"First years! Over here, firsties! Second years, to the carriages!"

A tall figure with a strange triangle-shaped head was calling them all forward and separating them from all the rest of the students. Once he deduced that everyone was together, he called out more instructions.

"Everyone into the boats! Only four, no more than that! Last time someone tried, the whole boat tipped over, and it was the clearest night of the year!"

"Oh, we heard all about it at home," Frank muttered, appearing from out of nowhere. "It was Alice's boat, she and James and Louis and the Scamanders got in and the whole thing upended. Alice says that's what started her career in cahoots with James; Mom was furious."

He got in with her and Queenie in the boat, and Lily joined them. The man, who apparently had a regular-shaped head (the triangle was his hat), must have warned them to mind the curtain of vines as they entered the cove but Cassie missed it, getting a delicious mouthful of the stuff. But when she was finished spitting leaves out of her mouth, she gasped along with everyone else at the great castle, lights all on and the moon casting off a brilliant glow on the place.

"We at Hogwarts are very excited to have you here," the man said, leading them up the steps to two great wooden doors, carved with scratches that certainly could have been vanished with magic. "I'm the groundskeeper, Mr. Bancroft. I'm also the first person you'll see at Hogwarts, as you've witnessed right now." He chuckled, stopping when he realized none of them got the joke. "Well, I'll let you all in. Hope your years are a pleasant one; this kind of thing only happens twice in your life."

His knock thundered on the doors and they opened, revealing a very familiar face: Professor Longbottom. He nodded to Bancroft who entered and rounded the corner, disappearing from sight. Longbottom led them that way too, passing the large hall in favor of a smaller right off the corridor.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," he said once the door closed and the hush died down. He gave a large smile; Cassie thought his eyes twinkled in Frank, Lily, and Hugo's direction. "If you have older relatives, I'm sure they told you all about the delicious feasts that Hogwarts has to offer. But before we enjoy that feast, we have to Sort you into your Houses.

"The Houses are like the cousins of the general Hogwarts family. You'll see each other every day by meals and classes, but at the end of the day, you will go back to your House common rooms. Over the course of the years, you will earn or lose points for your House and also possibly play for your House Quidditch team. At the end of the year, the House and Quidditch Cups are awarded for the House with the most points. The more you study and work hard, the more points you'll earn; misbehaviors will involve losing House points. Now, if you'll all wait here for just a minute—"

He disappeared out a back door. Someone gave a shriek that could have woken the dead; maybe it dead, because a large posse of ghosts floated through the wall. They seemed friendly enough though; one of them, a portly figure with a balding head, even waved at them. But then they floated out through the door again, just as Professor Longbottom reappeared. "You can come with me now."

As they entered the Great Hall, the first thing that caught her eyes was the ceiling. It was painted so very intricately, an exact replica of the sky outside, until she realized that she was in, in fact, a magic school, and it might have been something more complicated than that. At the Head Table where they stopped was a three-legged stool with a dilapidated old hat that had several of the girls giving looks of disgust and whispering amongst themselves. When a rip near the brim opened and started to speak though, the Hall and everyone inside it fell silent.

"_A millennia or so ago,_

_Four people here did meet,_

_To teach the children of their age,_

_An extraordinary feat. _

_Strong Gryffindor of England,_

_He thought that bravery_

_Should be what's in these children's hearts_

_And who he sought to teach. _

_Smart Ravenclaw of Scotland blue,_

_Thought wisdom was the one._

_Anyone with brilliance,_

_To her they all should come._

_Sweet Hufflepuff from Wales_

_Thought kindness was the way._

_Anyone just and loyal _

_Knew in her House they should stay._

_And Slytherin, of Irish creed,_

_Thought cunning was the best._

_Only the most ambitious_

_Should be picked from all the rest._

_For years they worked in harmony,_

_Till Slytherin left the fold;_

_It made a lot of trouble_

_When the pure-bloods took control._

_But now they're just like you and me,_

_More troubled now, perhaps_

_Being yelled at in the streets_

_For crime, they are harassed. _

"_It was our parents!" they plead,_

"_Of the atrocities, we took no part!"_

_But still this anger lingers,_

_In most every wizard's heart._

_We're all the same, inside and out,_

_And even Muggles too,_

_Each has blood red as the next_

_Person standing beside you._

_So put me on, I'll find your home_

_Where you can find your place_

_But through working together_

_Can we save the human race." _

Everyone was silent as the Hat settled down, until Professor Longbottom gained control of his senses. He pulled out a roll of parchment and began to unroll it. "When I call your name, just come up and put the Hat on your head. Not that hard, is it? Let's begin."

* * *

**A/N:**

**This story has reached over 100 views! I hope everyone is enjoying, and if you see something you like, don't be afraid to shoot a review! **

**Also, question: I can put up the chapter next week as a separate chapter, or I can ammend it to this one and it will just be really long... I'm still on the fence, but I think it can work either way. This is where you come in! If you have an opinion, you can shoot me a comment and I'll see what I can do! **

**Enjoy your weekend :)**

**~singallday**


	6. Chapter Six: All Sorted Out

**A/N: Oh look, an author's note on top of the chapter! A few orders of business:**

**1\. Since I got no feedback, I decided to do my original plan and keep my chapters split, so you guys don't need to figure out what and where the new part starts. **

**2\. I'm now officially on spring break! So I'm out of commision for the next two-three weeks, which means I'm not posting until on or around May 5. Until then, enjoy your day :)**

* * *

**Chapter Six **

**All Sorted Out**

The whole Hall was silent except for the tinkling sounds of coins passing hands. Professor Longbottom called out the first name.

"Ackerton, Summer!"

A girl with long blonde hair slowly stepped up to the stool, gingerly placing the Hat on her head like she was scared she would dirty herself with it. The Hat only took a few seconds before announcing "SLYTHERIN!"

The table in green erupted in cheers, second from the right. Even more money changed hands, and Cassie slowly realized that the students were betting on who would be Sorted into each House.

"Blood, Aaron!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Bowright, Artemis!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Now the far right table burst into applause, then "Carpenter, Bonnie!" became a Ravenclaw.

"Chase, Donny!"

Queenie gave out a little whoop, blushing when some of the first year heads turned to her. "He's my cousin," she said under her breath. "Let me cheer in peace."

Whoever he was, he jammed the Hat eagerly on his head and was announced a Gryffindor after it fully fell to his chin. He jumped up and eagerly ran to the left-hand table cheering away; even Professor Longbottom was smiling.

"Chase, Tommy!"

He looked just like his twin, but he walked up slower. The Hat took longer, ultimately calling "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Those two were twins. If they weren't in the same House, what were the odds that she'd be in Ravenclaw with Sirius?

As if to laugh at her, "Clearwater, Autumn!" became a Ravenclaw. She could see Sirius now, patting her on the back. _She_ deserved that pat.

Luisa Dean, Gryffindor… Fox Diamond, Ravenclaw, and high-fived by Sirius… Hugh Douglas, Hufflepuff…

"Fairchild, Barbie!"

She knew that name, Barbie Fairchild. How was she here, all the way from New York?

"Doesn't Hogwarts only take students from Britain and Ireland?" she asked, turning to Queenie. "She's the only other person I know from America, besides my brother and me."

Queenie shrugged. "Headmistress sends out the letters and the Deputy Headmaster checks on all the Muggle-borns. They have their reasons. I hope. She better not be one of those—"

She didn't finish, because Barbie was Sorted into Slytherin. "Oh well, we can hope," she said as "Fitzroy, Monday!" got called up to be a Hufflepuff.

After "Foster, Mickey!" became a Hufflepuff too, "Frost, Audrey!" was called forward. Queenie took two steps forward before realizing that she was not, in fact, called up and went back in line sheepishly. Audrey was claimed a Gryffindor, but after Queenie went up for real, she sat there for a good minute, two, three, muttering furiously. She was arguing with it, but it looked like she lost the deal when the Hat announced its verdict: HUFFLEPUFF!

They progressed down the G's, an H, a K. Frank got put in Gryffindor after the hat merely touched his hair and he skipped there, pausing momentarily to wink at his dad. Then came the M's. Walt Madison, Gryffindor… Lyla Mark, Ravenclaw…

"McClare, Cassie!"

Even after every school experience, Cassie couldn't help the blush that came up when her name was called. Hands twisting as she walked up, Cassie reached the Hat too soon and lifted it above her head. It landed with a soft thunk, effectively blocking out all outside noise. The smell, contrary to her initial belief, was of fresh laundry detergent.

_Why yes, I do get washed every now and then. You, Cassiopeia Montgomery McClare, are very much like your brother. More than you think. _

"That wasn't really an issue," Cassie whispered back. I already knew that."

_If we're on the topic of your brother, we may well discuss him,_ the Hat continued. _It is remarkable. You both have the same thirst for learning. Love of the sky, the stars. A fascination of people. _

"My father is a rocket scientist and my mother takes photos and illustrates books for a living. I think that's pretty normal, coming from a home like that."

_On the outset, it's all the same, yes. But the motives for these things are very different. Your brother loves learning for learning's sake. He has a reservoir he needs to fill with information, information on anything and everything he can get his hands on. So it is obvious why he has his fascinations in these things. But your motives are different entirely. You don't enjoy learning as much as helping others, that's what you pride your knowledge in—_

"I like knowing things for knowing things too—"

_But you're not just here, excited to know about magic and how it works. You want to try and teach your friend, don't you? June Brooks?_

"You can't try to stop me. She's got no one back home and if I'm doomed to stay here, I may well do something productive. Where would you put her?"

_There's no spell that can turn a Muggle into a witch—_

"There has to be something. I'm one, aren't I? If Sirius is so interested about everything like you say, then I'll have him help me find something. It's only fair that she's given the chance."

_There is much Slytherin in you, Slytherin and Gryffindor both. Maybe you should go to SLY—_

"Wait. If I can't get into Ravenclaw, at least tell me I'm all right for Hufflepuff, I know it. I'm too nice for Slytherin, aren't I?"

The Hat actually chuckled in her ear. _There's a different reason for Hufflepuff, am I right? Queenie Frost? I had her under me, begging to go to Slytherin. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and you do __have much loyalty, __and patience, a hard-work ethic, a passion for justice. __T__here's only one place __I can think __for you. HUFFLEPUFF!_

Cassie removed the Hat from her head and advanced to the Hufflepuff table; Queenie was holding her a seat. Professor Longbottom was already calling the next kid, "Meadows, Dorcas!" The Hat shouted Gryffindor as soon as it touched her soft brown hair.

The list went on and on. July Ollivander went to Ravenclaw, a boy named Terry Ormond to Hufflepuff, Beatrix Parker and Matthew Perry to Ravenclaw too. Cassie stared up at the High Table, where all the teachers sat. Bancroft was at one end, and a chair by the center was empty—Professor Longbottom's seat. "Who is everyone?" she asked.

Alice leaned in. "That's Professor Snow in the middle, Headmistress. My dad has that empty seat, obviously, and Professor Silver is on the other side of Snow—he's got a kid being sorted this year, I wanna see where he ends up. Probably Slytherin like his father… who else do you need to know? Professor Appleby, she teaches Charms and is Head of Hufflepuff House; best professor in my opinion, except maybe after my dad. Professor Prescott is Hufflepuff too, she teaches Potions—he's up—"

"Silver, Alexander!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Holy Merlin, I owe James a Galleon." Alice grumbled something under her breath. "He gets me every year! It's like he gets a list of all the Hat's decisions and picks the one I'll never guess. How can he know before the Hat?"

The Hat yelled out Slytherin again, and Cassie looked up to see the last of it. Three more kids were up. Hugo Weasley, after much waiting, became a Gryffindor; a girl called Blue Wells had to be helped over to the stool, then to the table after the Hat called Hufflepuff. Finally, Cheryl Wood was announced a Gryffindor, and Professor Longbottom was able to take the Sorting Hat and its stool away.

The Headmistress stood up; it felt like the beginnings of a long, drawn-out speech. From experience at the Dr. Montgomery Scott School for Advanced Learning, she knew it couldn't be good. Especially with everyone on an empty stomach. Her eyes combed the hall for waiters or something that slightly resembled food, but there was nothing.

"Welcome back, old students! And for our new ones, welcome to Hogwarts! I'll just assume you're about as starving as I am, so I won't bore you with information that will just go over your heads anyway. Enjoy dinner!"

She clapped, and instantly the tables filled up with food. Thank god most of it looked familiar; she didn't know if there was a difference between American versus British food, but she wasn't keen on finding out just yet. There was steak and lamb chops, roasted beef and chicken and hot dogs, roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes and really thick fries, and those were just the foods that she recognized. Piling a little bit of everything on her plate, Cassie took it all in. The sights, smells, the sounds of forks and knives chinking on fancy china plates.

As Cassie reached for the jug of orange juice, it suddenly floated away and poured itself into the goblet beside her. Then the goblet lifted itself into someone's hand. Cassie stared.

"You're looking at me, aren't you? Hope I don't have gravy all over my face, that'd be embarrassing."

The girl turned to face her, and Cassie recognized her. Blue Wells, the girl Professor Longbottom had guided to the table. Her eyes were blue and stared over her shoulder into the void.

"I do have gravy, don't I," Blue continued talking. "Where's a napkin—"

"No no, you're fine, it's just—" But Cassie stopped as a napkin floated by, patting her face. "You can't see," she finished lamely.

"Is that all? I already knew that," Blue said brightly, taking a bite from a floating fork. "Funny thing really, I've been hearing it every day for the past eleven years, eight months, and a day. All day, every day from my mum, Carson, Sage… You'd think they'd remember that they've already informed me, but maybe it's a memory loss sort of thing. Hope I don't get it. They're even sending my therapist so I can't forget. You'd really think I'd know by now, wouldn't you." And she punctuated it with another bite of roast beef.

"What about your dad?"

"Muggle chap who got involved in a crash during the War. He went blind for a couple of weeks, Mum found him and brought him to the medical ward where she worked and got him some help, but it took a while. He's the only that doesn't talk about it at all, actually."

The table was quiet for two minutes while everyone just stuffed their faces until someone spoke up again.

"You know what I've realized? All the first years in our group have the strangest names. We have Mickey here—what kind of a name is that?"

"It's short for Michael. I was supposed to be named Minerva after Professor McGonagall, but surprise! my parents had a boy. So I'm Mickey instead. Thank Merlin, because I don't need to go around being called Minnie Mouse. Imagine my horror."

"So we have Mickey, there's Terry and Huey which are strange, but really more on the normal end of the spectrum. Reece—"

Mickey laughed. "Can I get some of you to put in my cereal tomorrow morning? I only eat Reece's Puffs at home."

"What're those?"

"Peanut butter and chocolate balls. Reece's is the peanut butter."

Reece grunted. "Wanted to be the chocolate."

"If I can please finish. So we have Mickey, Terry, Huey, Reece, and me. Tommy. I think the girls are even weirder. Artemis, named after a Greek god. Blue, named after a color. Monday, named after a day of the week. Cassie, named after—"

He looked to her, and Cassie felt herself heat up again. "Cassiopeia. It's a star. In the sky."

"Cassie, named after a star in the sky. Not to be confused with those stars that you find in the dirt sometimes. And my favorite cousin Queenie. I think we actually have the most normal names out of everyone. Funny."

The food all disappeared as he finished speaking, replaced with a manner of desserts. Cassie immediately recognized the treacle tart and lunged for a piece. She couldn't tell the difference between Frank's and this, but it was something. Frank's… well, Frank's treacle was something else.

At last, the food melted from everybody's plates and Professor Snow got up to speak. This was the way to do things, Cassie sighed as she rubbed her very full stomach. Give the people food to eat before you speak, and then you'd have their full attention. Snow had hers at that very moment, that was for sure.

"Welcome to Hogwarts for another year of school! For the first years, it will be the start to your careers; for our seventh years, the last before you graduate and enter the real world out there. Our congratulations on the Head Boy and Girl, Effie Davis and Lady Frost! Please ignore the playground outside that is the Forbidden Forest, it has that name for a reason… Mr. Ganz has a running list of all contraband forbidden in the school… timetables will be handed tomorrow by breakfast time… Quidditch trials will be posted in your common rooms. Professor Walton will have some more to talk about that in the coming weeks. Good night to all and to all a good night."

Benches scraped across the floor as students rolled out of the Hall to bed. The Hufflepuff first years gathered around the two students who seemed to know most what they were doing, each with a gleaming silver "P" badge affixed to their chests.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff House, firsties, and welcome to Hogwarts! I'm your prefect, Rosalie Croft—"

"And I'm your other prefect, Josie Oxford. Now, just by listening to the Sorting Hat's song, you'll probably know that the other Houses seem much more fun and defined. You've got the brave ones, smart ones, ambitious ones… and us. The nice ones. But we are not your leftovers."

"If you ever do feel bad about your House, there is always someone that you can talk to. There's me and Josie, of course; we've got our own residential shrink, Mila Dee in sixth year; and if you try our Head of House, Professor Appleby, she has a mean cherry pie that she keeps in her office, perfect for any occasion. Just be sure to tell her if you're allergic though. But it. Is. So. Worth it."

Josie led them down the hall towards stairs to the cellar. "We generally keep ourselves as upbeat as we can. If you're still on the fence, we do have some things to sweeten the deal. Besides for Appleby's awesome pies, our common room is also the closest to the kitchens. Just around the corner. Whatever you need food-wise, the house-elves have it. And they love to help you out. Just be really specific with them, because they will get you an entire chicken if you ask for it. It might be a magically-enlarged chicken too."

"And speaking of our common room—" Rosalie gestured widely to a nondescript stack of barrels. "Ours is the only one not to have been breached in over a thousand years. All you need to do is tap the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff here—"

She pounded the barrel second from the bottom, middle of the second row, and the lid swung open wide enough for her to pass.

"Do the wrong rhythm or tap the wrong barrel… it's not pretty. Witnessed it myself. It's pretty funny for the watcher, though if you tricked your friends, I don't think they'd appreciate it."

Crawling through the tunnel… they ended up in a large, round room just a clock struck eleven. "Girls to the right boys to the left. I think you'll find our House lives up to its name of being the comfiest, coziest, and warmest common room of them all. Welcome to Hufflepuff, boys and girls."

Under her covers, Cassie had to admit the prefects were right. Beds comfortable, rooms warm and safe, underground without the claustrophobic feeling attached with it. A content smile on her lips, Cassie fell asleep as she always did, hand clutching her neck with her moonrock pendant. It glowed beneath her fingers.


End file.
